DUI detection course hosted at Vance

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Taylor Crul
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The 71st Flying Training Wing hosted a DUI Detection course for the Airmen of the 71st Security Forces Squadron and Oklahoma Police Officers Jan. 14-18, at Vance Air Force Base.

This course was a combination of several alcohol and drug detection programs, all taught by trained drug-recognition experts.

The five-day long course is an amalgamation of several training programs to include the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement program, Standard Field Sobriety Testing program, and certification for Intoxilyzer machine.

The SFST program educates officers on how to identify and assess drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol.

The ARIDE program provides officers the training to observe, identify and articulate the signs of impairment related to drugs, alcohol or a combination of both.

This DUI course also offered hands on training for the Vance Security Forces members and Oklahoma police by giving them a chance to perform some of the field sobriety tests in a controlled environment on people under the influence of alcohol.

“This course is about enhancing our detection abilities,” said Staff Sgt. Steven Alderman, the 71st SFS training manager.

For the Airmen taking the course, learning from drug recognition experts was invaluable, said Airman 1st Class Darian Hargrove, a 71st SFS patrolman. The training gave him more confidence in his abilities to use the tools out in the field.

Training alongside members of Team Vance were police officers from around the state and local officers from the Enid Police Department.

“Vance is a part of the Enid community and the state of Oklahoma, and we are always working towards strengthening our bond with Enid PD and the surrounding towns,” said Alderman. “Training together is just another way of building that bond.”

The goal of the training is to effectively detect drivers who are under the influence, get them off the streets, and hopefully make people reconsider getting behind the wheel under the influence.

“It is not just getting the drunk guy off the road. It is preventing them from getting on the road,” said Alderman. “If people know we are ready, they might think twice.”